President Present

The White House’s greater interest right now seems to be throwing little bones to its left. A quip here about the Wisconsin labor dispute, a gun-control op-ed there. A promise to quit defending the Defense Against Marriage Act. Yet even these are tiny bones, designed not to hugely upset the broader public.

Careful is the word. Compare this to George W. Bush, who ordered an Iraq surge despite dismal approval ratings.

A “present” strategy didn’t hurt the Illinois state senator, who went on to become president—and that may be what’s guiding the president’s team now. Then again, the White House is discovering there are greater consequences for a “present” president. The administration is realizing, for instance, that a victorious Gadhafi is not in fact to Mr. Obama’s, or the world’s, advantage—one reason it is now adopting a more aggressive posture.

It also hardly seems a winning strategy for the White House to keep the president’s approval ratings below the 50% he needs for re-election. He in particular risks alienating congressional Democrats, who are wearying of being left to handle public criticism. If they start to believe the president is looking out only for himself, they’ll do the same. Even if that means undermining pieces of his agenda